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A KING AND ALL THEM JEWELS ~ DECO DIAMONDS by DSH Perfumes

The dead fish in Ruthie Brown’s hand hovered over her head waiting to be slammed onto the front page of the London Times.

“Would you look at that luv…she looks so…frail.”

Ruthie look at the black and white photograph of The Duchess of Windsor in her widow’s weeds captured by some paparazzi as she looked out of a window of Buckingham palace.

“Poor thing. Well she is finally where she wanted to be…in the palace. The Duke had to die to get her in. but there she is. ”

“Awww feel sorry for her do ya luv?” Ruthie said as she oddly and gently laid the flounder on the visage of the former Wallis Simpson of Baltimore Maryland. “Well I don’t.” she sneered and roughly wrapped the fish up. “She got what she wanted. A King and all them jewels. Feel sorry all ya want May Morton but that woman nearly brought down the monarchy. I am with the Queen Mum when she said the two people who caused her the most trouble were Wallis Simpson and Hitler.”

As May Morton hurried out of Billingsgate fish market she passed a news stand. There one the front page of every newspaper and tabloid was the same sad photograph of the Duchess and that solitary crow. May paused to look at the photo. What was it like to be her she wondered? “A King…and all them jewels.” She whispered.

~

Wallis didn’t notice in the slightest the black crow on the balcony of the Villa Lou Viei where she was in hiding and safekeeping after the scandal broke in England the winter of 1937.

Her friend Katherine Rogers put a hand on her elbow. “Do you want to listen to it on the radio?”

“What did you say?” Wallis turned from the open French doors toward the darkness of the villa’s interior.

“Lord Brownlow is going to read your statement of willingness to give up the King.”

Wallis’ eyes narrowed as her platinum spine stiffened giving her a more regal bearing. She looked down at the circlet of perfect Cartier diamonds and emeralds on her wrist, a gift from David.

“No… I would rather be alone for a bit if you don’t mind.” She smiled. Katherine nodded and faded into the dark interior. As Wallis stepped out in to the warm December sun of the South of France the crow watched her with his own rather regal eye as black and cold as obsidian.

Would he call? Would he stop her from leaving him? Or would she be left with only his glittering gifts of iced stones? Would the gamble pay off? The British Empire was collapsing and now many thought she was a part of that. She was sure now that his choice was either her or the throne. But not both. It could never both.

Would she win?

The haunted call of the crow cut into her thoughts. She turned to see it jump for its marble perch and soar out over the cypress trees toward the Mediterranean. Absently she stroked the diamonds and emeralds on her wrist with the tips of her fingers and thought for the very first time of them as her children.

***

Deco Diamonds by the dazzling Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH perfumes is part of her Brilliant Collection. These fragrances were created in conjunction with the Denver Art Museum’s Cartier Exhibit in 2014-15. The first of the four perfumes, Fumee D’or evokes the workroom of the famed French jewelry house. The remaining three in The Brilliant Collection were inspired by three icons of glamour who wore Cartier with flair and style. Jacinthe de Sapphir was inspired by Marie the Queen of Romania who owned a Cartier sapphire bigger than the Ritz! Rubis Rose was inspired by the Cartier suite of ruby and diamonds given to Elizabeth Taylor by her first great love, Mike Todd. And the last Deco Diamonds found its inspiration in the cold and glittering glamor of the Duchess of Windsor.

Each of the perfumes in this line also are created in the style and manner of perfumes from the era each woman reigned as a jewelry icon. Dawn has a great talent in creating and an essential understanding of the classics and history of perfume which informs and illuminates her art above and beyond most independent niche houses. This is a perfume of the Jazz Age. As hot as Louis Armstrong’s trumpet solos from the sweltering midnight of Roseland Ballroom and as elegant and sophisticated as George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue as it lifted the roof off of Aeolian Hall in 1924. This is a delicious aldehydic jazz age cocktail that sings and swings.

(Dawn Spencer Hurwitz and The Denver Art Museum)

The notes are classically composed and unfold as beautifully as any great perfume from the 20’s and 30’s would. Aldehydes are the shooting stars of the perfume… a meteor shower of glorious glamour augmented by sparking neroli and galbanum and a ripe wet fleshy peach. . And of course the flowers are so very artfuly arranged, gardenia, jasmine, honeysuckle dance a sensuous fox trot around an imperious and lush tuberose. But what gives the perfume the gravity of a classic is the addition of not one animalic note but two. Civet and hyrax frolic with a touch of nasty abandon though out the perfume. There is a lush symphonic dry down of jasmine sambac, ambergris, and sandalwood. All wrapped up in a great oak moss.

The perfume lasts a good long time on my skin. About 10 hours or so. This is in part due to Dawn’s understanding that the natural notes she uses from natural sources need a synthetic frame to support them. Like the structure of DNA the synthetic notes she uses hold the natural notes in perfume together and give then a longer life. A lesson taught early in the 20th century buy such perfumers as Ernest Beaux and not forgotten by smart perfumers of today.

The sillage is as bold and commanding as the Duchess of Windsor was. To wear this perfume is to say that you are a person who knows what they want out of life and how to get it. This is a perfume of confidence that isn’t afraid to be strong and stylish. This bold strength gives Deco Diamonds a masculine edge that I find very appealing. That kind of unisex bravado one finds in many stars of the 1930’s who donned slacks and made them fashionable for women. To put simply, this is a perfume that, like the Duchess of Windsor wears the pants in the family.

Such and enchanting read, well done. I love the way your stories unfold from the most unlikely witnesses, and always bringing the reader dead-center to the action.
The spirit of Wallace Simpson is likely to appear to you after this, and thank you for your enormous kindness in these images of her, expecially the painting, that show her off so well. I’m sure it was the royals who circulated the picture of the very slim Mrs Simpson, sunlit midday and ghastly as it gets. How unfair that it’s the uppermost impression, but then maybe unfair to blame them for that. The jewels are splendid to see, and no one could have done a better job describing the frangrance. You’re so good at this.

BEGUILING HOLLYWOOD
Vickie Lester knows a few things about Hollywood, past and present. One of my absolute favorite must read blogs in town. (don’t mention that I told you but her real name is Esther Blodgett.)

FRAGANTICA
Find a fragance, make friends, write reviews and connect with other frag heads!

FRAGRANCE TALK
Cubby’s site and just about the best online reviewer there is. His video reviews are the BEST!

Garance Doré
Brilliant, warm, sweet and funny, but beyond all that a great photographer of fasion and video blogger.

GRAIN DE MUSC
Denyse Beaulieu’s fabulous blog. Her book The Perfume Lover about the creation of Saville A L’aube by L’Artisan Parfumur is a must read that is next on my must read list. Thanks Katie Puckrick for turning me on to Denyse’s blog.

RIVIERA NAYARIT GRINGO
My friend Earl Miller’s blog about life in the magical town of San Pancho Mexico. Check it out and if you are heading down there stay at Earl’s Roberto’s Bungalows.

SCENT TRAILS
The Frunkinator’s great site for locating perfume brick and mortar shops around the globe. Also listed are perfume events. Great Site!

SCENTRY ~ Perfume Stories
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SMELL AND TELL
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SMELLY THOUGHTS
Freddie Albrighton the up and coming l’enfant terrible of perfume blogging! He is brilliant!

TOP 10 FRAGRANCES
“A blog for perfume lovers by perfume lovers.” Jasper Buckingham and his wife who are based in France have a really fine fragance blog. check it out and Jasper’s YouTube channel as well.

WHAT MEN SHOULD SMELL LIKE
From somewhere south west of Tahiti comes this great blog by my buddy Clayton. You are going to thank me for taking you to the land down under.

ZGO Blog
The wonderful and fragrant San Francisco perfume and candle shop now has a fabulous blog!

HAYDRIA PERUMERY
My friend Haydrya has a fabulous perfume house. Perfumes inspired by the glamour decades of the 20th Century from the 20’s to the 60’s. Perfumes handmade with love. Such wonderful names as “Tainted Love”, “L’Eau Exotique, and “Black Mamba”. Check it out!

HISTORIES DE PERFUMS ~ PARIS
A really exciting house…they even make a new perfume “Peter and Alice” that comes in a cupcake flacon. Look for the new “Veni, Vedi, Vici” line as well. Cardamon and Julius Caesar!

HOUBIGANT ~ Paris
The oldest perfume house in existence, founded in Paris in 1775. Marie Antoinette loved their perfumes so much that she had her coachman stop at the perfume house during her attempted escape from Paris in 1789. The house be came the perfumer to royalty

ONE SEED PERFUME
A great little niche house with a heart as big as the Outback. ” One Seed donates 10% of profits to organisations close to our heart, including Collective Shout and Australia Hope International.”

PK Perfume
Paul Kiler is a California Perfumer who creates wonderful scents inspired by the perfumes of the early 20th Century. All formulated from the best natural materials available to him.

SHAY & BLUE ~ LONDON
A brand new perfume house created by ex Senior Vice President of Chanel and former Global General Manager of Jo Malone Ltd and up and coming perfumer Julie Massé . Looks really interesting to me.

THE 7 VIRTUES ~ Perfumes
The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc. is a Canadian company that believes we must flex our buying power to empower families in countries that are rebuilding. In one instance for the Noble Rose perfume they are turning drug poppies farms in Afghanistan into rose farms

TOM FORD ~ FRAGRANCE MEN
The Ellegant and expensive Mr. Ford. His talents are many from fashion to film. His nose is beyond compare.

WEIL PARFUMS
They started out as furriers in 1912. First perfumes were to scent the fur coats.

PERFUME SHOPPING

AEDES DE VENUSTAS ~ NEW YORK
Aedes de Venustas is a great place to shop for scent in New York. They stock the impossible to find you have been searching for high and low. Just GO!

HOUBIGANT ~ Paris
The oldest perfume house in existence, founded in Paris in 1775. Marie Antoinette loved their perfumes so much that she had her coachman stop at the perfume house during her attempted escape from Paris in 1789. The house be came the perfumer to royalty

THE 7 VIRTUES ~ Perfumes
The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc. is a Canadian company that believes we must flex our buying power to empower families in countries that are rebuilding. In one instance for the Noble Rose perfume they are turning drug poppies farms in Afghanistan into rose farms

ZGO San Francisco
The most exciting new personal scent store in San Francisco. World class Perfumes, Candles, and bath soaps. Drop in for a great olfactory experience and tell them Lanier from Scents Memory sent you.

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